Why
by lookingforthestars
Summary: Walter sees everything slipping away and he's not sure this is a problem he can solve. Post-"Sly and the Family Stone."
1. Thoughts

**I was honestly just itching to write a story. Not 100% sure how long this will be or where it's going. My best guess is 4-5 shorter chapters, and the forecast is angst that is expected to clear up by the end. Like this is actually more angst than the show, sorry. I think show Walter is struggling but growing in a lot of amazing ways. This fic is how I imagine Walter would see things but it's not necessarily how I see the situation.**

 **Also I'd just like to say DANG Elyes was mighty fine in "Sly and the Family Stone." Wet or dry, that outfit was doing him all kinds of favors and he's a truly epic actor and I'm just in love.**

 **Anyway.**

 **Review if you're up for it.**

He couldn't stop thinking about the way Paige had looked at him as she left the garage.

He couldn't stop thinking about her hand rubbing his back at Megan's ceremony. He couldn't stop thinking about fixing her light in the cave. He couldn't stop thinking about her coming down the stairs in that dress.

He didn't forget much, and every interaction he'd ever had with Paige was stored safely in his memory. Lately, though—after Tahoe—it was all so much more powerful. Those moments were burned indelibly into his brain and he replayed them with alarming frequency. Because he was never going to get anything more from her.

That was his fault. He was aware. He didn't blame her for moving on with the interloper. How could he? In hindsight, he recalled the many times she'd practically thrown herself at him and he had been so stubborn, so blind, so sure of his long-held beliefs in the emptiness of romantic feelings that he pushed her away and now she was gone, really gone, in the arms of a man he couldn't hate but couldn't accept.

He missed her so much. He missed all the little things he thought weren't important to him, at the time, but that he now felt he couldn't live without. He missed her brushing his arm when she walked by. He missed hearing her laugh when he attempted terrible jokes. He missed being the first person she talked to when she entered the garage, handing her coffee with cinnamon and feeling like the crater in his life that had appeared overnight was filled again.

It all sounded melodramatic, even in his own head. But he wondered how a person who craved knowledge as much as he did, who constantly sought opportunities to overturn entrenched, erroneous theories, had studiously ignored all the signs. It was like denying global warming, or refusing to accept that the earth revolved around the sun.

He wasn't denying the signs anymore. But it was a bit too late, because every time he saw them now, they served as distressing evidence that Paige was falling in love with Tim.

Walter felt ill at the thought of her saying those words, the words he'd tried so hard to express for years, to a man she'd known for months. He was certainly nauseated at the idea of Tim touching her, taking that gown off her slowly, making her sigh in the dark.

He was torturing himself, but he didn't stop. He wasn't sure he could stop, but even if he was capable of erasing the sickening _what ifs_ from his mind, they were appropriate punishment for his mistakes.

The genius flipped over, burying his face in the pillow, but there was no chance she'd stop haunting him tonight.

* * *

"I didn't think you'd still be down here."

Walter didn't answer, and Cabe followed his gaze to where it had fallen on Paige's empty desk. He'd assumed the agent left with Happy, twenty minutes earlier, for another few hours of banal board games.

Because what he was doing was infinitely more productive.

Cabe dragged a rolling chair over to the other side of Walter's workstation, raising his brows at the genius's feet, which were crossed at the ankles and propped on the desk. Walter wasn't usually so…casual at the garage, but currently he was leaning back in his chair, staring straight ahead, his eyes focused on everything and nothing important. He was vaguely aware of Cabe resting a mug of coffee on the corner and popping open one button on his black suit jacket as he relaxed into his seat.

They were all relieved not to get a case the day after returning from Ireland. It was a physically and mentally exhausting trip, and the team had trudged through minor projects and voting on a few prospective private jobs before heading out early. Walter was curious as to why Cabe was hanging around, but not curious enough to initiate conversation.

"Hell of a week," the agent offered, crooking one elbow over the back of his chair. Walter had heard that expression from the older man many times and it served no purpose other than to break the silence, so he deduced that Cabe was searching for insight into his thoughts.

He wasn't inclined to give it. "Sure."

For a normal, Gallo had remarkably little tolerance when it came to small talk. After another lengthy silence, he took a long swig of his coffee and dropped it back down with a slight clatter that set Walter's nerves on edge. "Alright. Are you going to mope around here for the rest of your life, or does the sulking have an expiration date?"

"I don't sulk," Walter rebutted, though his aggravated tone suggested otherwise.

"Could've fooled me." Cabe gestured vaguely to the genius, shaking his head. "Look at you. Fourth highest IQ in the world and you're sitting here wasting brain cells. What happened to the man who couldn't go ten minutes without working on something?"

"Fifth. And I'm attempting to be more human. This is what humans do." He lifted his clasped hands in demonstration before dropping them back down to his lap. "What would you suggest I be doing?"

Cabe pressed his lips together. They both knew why Walter had been sitting in that position for nearly an hour, burning a hole through a vacant desk. Ralph was conducting a presentation at a school assembly and the young genius had only let it slip as he was leaving the garage with his mother and the interloper. Paige looked embarrassed and ushered him out the door, offering a brief apology and some sort of meaningless platitude, like _maybe next time you can join us_ , to Walter before disappearing.

 _We could have been partners forever._

Watching Ralph bond with Drew had been painful enough, but at least Walter could accept—in some capacity—Drew's role as his biological father. But not Tim. Not a stranger. Not someone who would never understand Ralph's depth as a genius and as a human being.

"Look, son." Cabe cleared his throat and waited for Walter to focus on him. Another pause. Nothing. "I know it sucks, having your heart broken. You feel like you'll never care about someone else again. But you will."

"You didn't."

Walter caught Cabe with the photo album the morning after Happy produced it. He spent an average of forty-seven seconds on each page. Whether it was nostalgia or regret, Walter couldn't say with certainty, but it didn't bear the hallmarks of someone who'd moved on from the past.

"Yeah, well, I'm old. And I worked most of my life away. Doesn't mean it'll be the same for you." The agent tipped his chin toward Walter. "You've got a lot of time. And a lot to offer."

The genius crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back farther, his chair creaking under the strain. He was putting a fair amount of effort into appearing indifferent, but his voice was less sharp when he spoke again and he didn't have the energy to correct it. "It's, uh…it's fine. I always knew it was going to be like this." Walter allowed himself a brief glance over to his mentor before looking away again. "My being alone has been proven to be…efficient. Whatever, uh, variables may have arisen in the past several years are immaterial. The end result is the same."

"You know you're not alone, kid." The fatherly tone that Walter usually gravitated toward suddenly felt like nails on a chalkboard and he wanted nothing more than for the conversation to be over. "Ralph and Paige will still be in your life. She's a good friend. I think you'll find a pretty loyal friend in Tim, too. And he might have one in you, if Ireland was any indication."

He swung his legs off the desk and dropped them to the floor, his shoes landing with a thud on the cement. "I guess Tim will have everything then." He tapped once on the edge of his workstation, signifying the end of their communication, and pushed himself up, turning toward the direction of the stairs. "Goodnight, Cabe."

Walter heard the agent respond, but he didn't stop to listen. It wasn't going to accomplish anything of value tonight.


	2. Close

**Wow, thank you for the kind words and for trusting me not to torture you too much. At the very least, I can promise relatively quick (albeit short) updates so keep spurring me on with those reviews. :) A special shout-out to ScorplinginTraining, because a** _ **lot**_ **of elements in this story are based on post-episode conversations we've had. Thanks for the inspiration!**

Walter's burgeoning EQ nagged at him all night to apologize to Cabe for storming off. He knew it wasn't particularly logical or, well…mature. But he'd never asked to talk about Paige and the agent's assertion that he would have another chance at love pushed him over the edge of the cliff he was already teetering on.

He'd been attracted to other women, of course. The genius had even felt a measure of affection and protectiveness over several of his previous romantic partners, notably Janice and Linda. But what he felt around Paige was so different, so overwhelming, that Walter suspected if he allowed himself to experience them to their full extent, those emotions would render him incapable of functioning.

Even without the arrival of the gratingly perfect Navy SEAL, Walter was confident that he would have eventually processed the depth of his feelings for Paige. It just took him time he didn't have.

Walter pressed down the button on his timer and watched Cabe Jr. struggle to scale one of the walls in his maze. Was working in his loft for the day an avoidance technique? Probably. He hadn't conducted experiments with the rat in nearly six months, and they were exceedingly rare after Megan's passing. The lab sometimes felt like a reminder of everything he'd neglected to accomplish for his sister. Lately, everywhere in the garage reminded him of his failures.

He pressed the button again and Cabe Jr. gave up on hearing the beep, plopping safely back down onto the floor. Walter fished a treat out of the bag and gave it to the rodent, who grabbed it eagerly. "It's alright, buddy. You'll get it."

Walter furrowed his brows, wondering when he'd gone from berating the rat to providing it with encouragement. That was, likely, also Paige's doing. Cabe Jr. had been much more pliable under her attentions and he often found himself copying her methods. Of course he would be able to do with that with an animal but not with a human.

"Hey." Walter barely restrained himself from jumping as her voice drifted in from the door. She always had an uncanny ability to appear just as he was thinking about her, although statistically he supposed that was inevitable. No matter what he was working on, Walter made it clear that the team was welcome into his loft at any time during business hours. Now, though, he wished he'd specified that he wanted privacy, because her presence was…difficult. "Am I interrupting you?"

 _You've already interrupted my entire life, what difference would this make?_ "What do you need?"

"It's close to twelve. There are sandwiches in the kitchen if you wanted lunch." Paige tapped her fingers on the door frame, offering him a weak smile. "If you're busy, I can bring you one."

It was a perfectly nice offer and Walter wasn't sure why he was so deeply disappointed that was what she came up to say. "I, uh, have food here."

"Oh. Okay."

She didn't move, and Walter cleared his throat before adding, "But thank you."

"Sure." The liaison's eyes were trained downward, to the floor, and she continued her nervous tapping for another few seconds before swallowing and meeting his gaze. "Walter, I…I owe you an apology. About last night."

 _Please don't. Please just let me be angry. It's easier._

But he'd never be angry with her for any length of time. He found it intolerable. So he stayed silent, allowing her to continue.

"Ralph wanted you to come. He really did. I asked him not to say anything, just this one time."

"Oh." Walter scratched at the back of his neck, which suddenly felt like it was being stung with needles. "I'm, um, sure you had your reasons."

"Not good ones." After another moment of hesitation, Paige entered the loft and dropped herself onto his couch, leaning forward as if she was too nervous to get comfortable. Walter was grateful for her black jeans because he knew if one of those short skirts she liked was currently riding up her legs, it would be impossible to focus. She sighed and he shook his head to clear his mind of rapidly devolving thoughts. "Look, Walter, I want you in Ralph's life. Of course I do. And he's gotten…he's gotten close to Tim, too. I want there to be room for both of you, but I also don't want to push you together. I know I didn't handle that well. I really am sorry."

"Thank you." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to comfort her when she was trying to make amends with him, but the instinct was still surprisingly strong. "Just, uh, tell me in the future and I'll make my own arrangements to go. I don't mind sitting somewhere else."

That was a blatant falsehood. There were few things he'd enjoyed more, in the course of their tenure at Scorpion, than sharing in Paige's pride over Ralph's accomplishments. But if the choice was between distancing himself from the liaison and being cut out of Ralph's life, there was no choice at all.

She nodded and Walter felt himself frown in surprise when she scooted sideways on the couch and motioned for him to take her seat. _This seems like a bad idea_ , the logical portion of his brain insisted, but the part of his mind that craved closeness with Paige overruled logic and pushed him next to her before he'd considered all the potential outcomes.

He toyed with his fingers nervously, unable to make eye contact with the woman who was mere inches away from him now. Paige's scent was intoxicating and he wondered if she could read from his body language how powerful of an effect she had on him.

"I know it must have been hard for you in Ireland. Being around people who didn't understand you." Her hand snaked around to his back, the same gesture she'd used to reassure him at Megan's ceremony, and without conscious effort he found himself cataloging every brush of her fingers against his body. "I just wanted to tell you I was proud of you. Seeing you with your parents…with Sylvester…" Paige tipped her head toward him, smiling more genuinely this time. "You're growing. A lot. And I get that those feelings aren't always easy, but when they're good, it'll be worth it. I promise."

Walter wasn't sure how to respond—wasn't sure he could respond with her hand on him—so he just nodded. He angled his head to face her and they were much closer somehow than he'd expected. Paige's eyes looked different, darker, and her breathing was audible because of their proximity. Her fingers curled and she grazed her nails gently over his spine, watching him as if she was trying to gauge his reaction, and he had to grit his teeth to control the shiver that passed through him.

He understood the cues. Other women had used them to signal interest. But he'd never wanted those women like he wanted Paige, never wanted to claim them as his, just for a second.

And a second wasn't long enough.

Walter was in pain. Her need to comfort him had clearly blurred the lines and as soon as his lips touched hers she would realize she'd done it out of pity, she would pull away and tell him it was a mistake, she would leave and the tension between them would become unbearable.

"I have to finish," the genius said abruptly, jerking himself out of her grasp and pushing up from the couch. "The experiment. I have to finish it soon or the results could be, uh…corrupted."

Paige blinked and smoothed her hands over her lap, looking…guilty? Walter couldn't identify the expression on her face and it was probably best for both of them if he didn't try. He was a little lightheaded and gradually realized that he was holding his breath, standing rigidly as he awaited her reaction.

"Yeah, of course." The liaison brushed her hair out of her face with one hand and stood, barely looking at him as she headed toward the door. Nothing had ever felt louder than the silence in the loft, but he knew it didn't compare to how irreparable the damage would have been if he'd let himself lose control. After what seemed like an eternity, her heels tapped on the stairs and faded out.

Walter exhaled.


	3. Slip

**I'm really enjoying writing this story, it's been an excellent outlet for my emotions about this season. There will be angst for a bit longer but this whole thing won't be more than like five or six chapters. Thank you, as always, for the support. :)**

"You seem distracted."

Distracted was one word for it. Anxious. Guilty. Mortified.

 _I tried to kiss Walter in the garage while you were right downstairs. Let's talk about that._

Paige paused spearing lettuce on her fork but couldn't bring herself to look at Tim. She had been _so_ selfish. Walter put on a brave face for her, but it wasn't hard to see that she hurt him and her attempt to apologize had successfully torpedoed the situation. He'd barely looked in her direction for five days and the distance affected her more than she was comfortable admitting.

There was no justification. In the moment, she just wanted to be close to him. He'd been anxious and unhappy, and to know she was the cause—even partially—made her ache. The desire to take care of him, to ease that burden, had canceled out her better judgment. That was no longer her right, though, if it ever had been. And that wasn't even considering her major breach of Tim's trust.

"Walter?" Paige snapped to attention, wondering if the trainee had offered some context that she'd tuned out, but Tim simply shrugged and explained, "You have this look whenever you're worried about him. I usually see it on cases."

"Oh." She debated over whether she was obligated to tell Tim what happened between them. Nothing _had_ happened between them—no thanks to her. She opted for a half-truth. "I'm just concerned about our trip. All those memories of Megan being stirred up. I think it might have taken a toll on him."

The trainee murmured sympathetically before thanking the waitress whose presence she had barely noticed and reaching for his recently refilled water glass. "He seems like he's doing alright. Maybe it's better if you give him some space to work things out."

Paige knitted her brows, unsure if she'd imagined the strange undercurrent in Tim's voice. "Space."

"Yeah." He met her eyes and sighed at her expression, which clearly indicated that she was waiting for him to elaborate. "Paige, I know you want to help him out as a friend. I respect that." Tim leaned toward her, propping his elbows on the table. "But don't you ever worry about…I don't know, giving him the wrong impression? Always being his shoulder to cry on?"

If she was giving Walter the wrong impression, it was because she was a terrible friend, not a good one. And was it even a wrong impression if she knew exactly what her actions had suggested? "It's not like that," she insisted, biting her lip.

"I apologize if I'm overstepping, Paige. But you can't deny that things have been a little complicated since he dropped that bomb about Tahoe—."

Paige almost lost her fork and regained her grip on it just before it crashed to her plate. She shoved the utensil out of her way. "What bomb?"

Tim cocked his head, staring at her curiously. "Come on, Paige. You know why he was there."

"He was there for the same reason we were. The jazz festival." She tried not to let doubt—the same doubt she'd experienced the first time Walter spun that story—creep into her words. Tim didn't know about the genius's interference in their weekend; it would only serve to exacerbate the tension between them and there was enough of that already. But she was at a total loss about what _bomb_ he was referring to now. "Unless you heard a different story?"

The trainee cleared his throat and glanced around, obviously uncomfortable with having this conversation in public, but their voices were lowered and no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. "I've heard enough to know that you shouldn't take this lightly, Paige."

She suppressed a wince. Tim was a respectful, charming guy, but there was a hint of condescension in the way he'd said her name and that was a tone she never reacted to very well. The liaison plucked her napkin off her lap and dropped it next to her plate, reaching down again to brush a loose white thread from her skirt. "I appreciate your concern, but you don't really understand the situation."

Tim clenched his jaw. "Yeah, actually, I think I understood pretty clearly when Walter announced over the comms that he's in love with you."

Paige's hand stilled and she stared at him, momentarily stunned. His voice was quiet but he looked angry—and more than a little frustrated—as he pushed his chair away from the table. She half expected him to get up and storm away, but he stayed in place, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing out a breath.

"What?" Tim didn't volunteer any further information and Paige slumped backward, blinking, racking her brain for an explanation. When would they have even been on the comms without her? Only once that she could... _no, no, no_."The missile. I took mine out but the—." Another wave of dread washed over her and she felt like she might be sick right there in the restaurant. "The whole team?"

Tim was still too worked up to speak and settled for a brief nod. Everyone had known before her? Only Toby was aware that Walter shared his feelings with her in the capsule, so...was that it? Did they just plan to keep her in the dark forever?

"I don't understand why you would hide that from me." There was a sharp edge in her voice, though she hadn't decided yet whether or not it was warranted. "Didn't you think I deserved to know?"

"I didn't think it mattered. You're with me." His silence had been unnerving, but the way he was watching her—so intensely she felt like her secrets were plastered on her forehead—wasn't much more comforting. "Aren't you?"

She looked away, struggling under his scrutiny, and dropped her head into her hands, smoothing her palms over her hair. "Clearly you don't think I am, or you would have told me."

Tim narrowed his eyes. "That's not an answer, Paige."

"Okay, I'm sorry but I need a second." She exhaled shakily, confident that at least some of their fellow patrons were gawking now, but she wasn't entirely concerned with their opinions. "I can't believe the team knows."

The trainee uncrossed his arms and his expression changed, just slightly, but enough for Paige to realize that he was barely maintaining his composure. "I'd rather talk about how you know," Tim said in a clipped voice. "You're surprised about the team, but you're not surprised by what Walter said. He told you, didn't he?" His hands balled into fists in his lap. "I swear, Cabe's gonna have to pull me off of him—."

"He didn't tell me," Paige countered quickly, though she knew that wasn't the entire truth. Part of her wanted to explain, but part of her—the stronger part—resisted the idea of opening up that deeply private moment to criticism. "I mean…he didn't make a move on me, if that's what you're thinking." _Not for a lack of trying, but that's a story for another day, or, you know, never._ "And you are _not_ going to fight him. We've had more than enough division in the team and I'm tired of it. My son will not see two people he cares about try to hurt each other. Do you understand?"

Tim seethed in silence for a moment before his shoulders relaxed, and Paige figured she'd defused his temper for the time being. She dug around in her purse and pulled out enough cash to cover her half of the bill—it didn't feel right to let him pay for a date like this—and dropped it on the center of the table as she stood up.

"Paige." He uttered her name more softly this time, laced with concern that the liaison didn't feel like she deserved from anyone right now. "You shouldn't drive like this."

"I'm fine." _Perfect, I even sound like him._ "I'm right around the corner. I'll text you when I get home."

Knowing a losing battle when he saw one, Tim nodded and Paige was relieved when he chose not to follow her out of the restaurant. Occasionally she'd walked away from fights, in the past, secretly hoping the other person would care enough to chase after her. This wasn't one of those times.

Tonight, she planned to find refuge in the bathtub with a full bottle of wine. She'd sleep this terrible week off and in the morning, she and Tim would hash things out with clear heads. A little time alone was exactly what she needed.

Which was why she couldn't quite explain how, seven minutes later, she turned off onto a familiar side street, set her car in park, and found herself right back in front of the garage.


	4. Home

**Okay so I swear the angst was my original plan for the story and not just a ploy to mess with your heads, but I won't lie…I'm getting a kick out of torturing you. I'm laughing at your pain a little bit. :b But that's only because it makes me feel really good to know people are having an emotional reaction to my writing. At this rate, I'll probably be done posting by Monday. I can safely say this chapter is maximum angst…it gets better from here.**

 **Oh, and to the guest reviewer who gave me their ideal season 3 ending: I love it. ;)**

 _What the hell are you doing here, Paige?_

What _was_ she doing here? She had no business in the garage and Walter almost certainly didn't want her there. A voice that sounded like Tim, Toby, and her own conscience all rolled up berated her for being selfish yet again.

She didn't mean to keep hurting Walter. Yes, he'd strung her along and broken her heart a few times, and maybe a small part of her wanted him to understand what that felt like. But this was _Walter_ , the man who gave her a path to a better life, who brought Ralph out of his own head, who risked his life willingly for the two of them without expecting anything in return. Drew wanted a medal every time he went to the store for milk.

 _Just leave now and you can pretend this never happened. Wine, bath…remember?_

"Paige?"

The liaison jumped and looked up at Walter with wide eyes. He was standing in front of her car, a garbage bag in one hand, his brow quirked up questioningly. Paige didn't have any kind of stellar answer prepared, so she swallowed and reached over to unbuckle her seat belt. "I forgot something," she muttered lamely out the open window.

"Oh. Okay." Walter hesitated in his spot and then walked over to the driver's side. For a split second, she thought he might tell her to take a hike, but instead he tugged on the door handle, stepping aside to let her out. The silence was all but deafening as she followed him toward the garage, stopping abruptly to avoid bumping into him as he dropped the bag into a plastic bin outside.

She'd gotten better at thinking on her feet, but clearly she still had room to grow. Why did she pick an excuse that forced her to enter the garage? Hadn't that been exactly what she was trying to avoid?

Except she wasn't trying to avoid it. Not really. Even admitting that made her feel like an awful person. The garage was home to her, the team was home to her, _Walter_ was home to her, and she wasn't sure when she'd forgotten that. She felt like a stranger now.

They were both uncomfortable, but despite that, there was a part of Paige that wanted to walk straight up to his loft and never leave.

Walter crossed the main floor into the kitchen and she heard the faucet running as he washed his hands. She decided to go to her workstation for show and rested in her chair, opening drawers like she was searching for the all-important mystery item. She'd have to actually take something with her if she wanted to sell the story, so she settled for a green blouse she kept on hand for emergencies and set it on top of the desk.

Walter peered around the entrance to the kitchen. "Do you, uh, want coffee? Or anything?"

"No thank you," she said, flashing him a strained smile. He was only asking to be polite—she could hear it in his voice—and the fact that he wasn't searching for an excuse to get her to stay like he'd done in the past caused her chest to tighten.

 _Why should he? Being around you doesn't make him happy anymore._

A few months ago, her choices seemed almost logical. Walter had made himself unavailable and a handsome, normal alternative appeared on their doorstep. Now he loved her, and maybe that shouldn't have affected anything, but it did.

But to give it all up, again, on the off chance that Walter's mind had changed was…terrifying.

"Did you find it?" The genius was standing a few feet away from her desk and she started slightly, coming out of her daze. He was holding a mug and Paige found herself staring at the scrapes on his hands that were still healing after their last case. _He wants you to leave. Can you just grab your stuff and get out?_

Her fingers curled around the shirt, but that was as far as she got. She knew that if she really cared about him, she would stop trying to insinuate herself into his life, but the idea that this could be the new normal between them, their permanent state, scared her. "I still, uh…" Walter had one foot toward the stairs, but he respectfully stopped to listen. "Can we talk?"

She'd practically crawled into his lap the last time they were alone, so she wasn't wholly surprised when he tightened his grip on the cup and pressed his lips together. "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Tim told me." Paige felt a blush rise under her skin. She'd just blurted that out like Ralph after too much candy, but it got Walter's attention, and he was planted—or maybe frozen—in his spot. "About the comms. After Tahoe. What the team heard. I didn't know, Walter. No one said anything."

He looked panicked and she kicked herself for dumping this on him so abruptly. She'd just been holding her tongue for what felt like years and cracks were starting to form that she couldn't patch up. "I'm sorry, Paige," Walter murmured, focusing his eyes on his coffee. "You shouldn't have found out that way."

The liaison had expected him to deny it, or refuse to discuss it, or maybe direct his anger toward Tim. But she wasn't expecting an apology.

"I didn't." Two simple words to open Pandora's Box. Paige figured she'd already overloaded the genius and could at least save him the effort of trying to decipher her vague answer. "On the rocket. That time you're missing, what you don't remember, that was…I was talking to you. Trying to help you get out alive. You told me then. That you loved me."

He blinked. "What else?"

Walter's expression was unreadable, practically blank, and Paige realized that he still hadn't recalled anything. She could make up any version of events she wanted, but if he did remember, later, and knew she'd lied to him, there would be no more chances for them. "I wasn't there the whole time." She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. "You said…that you knew you couldn't be the person I needed. But you loved me and you thought that, eventually, you and I would be together."

He blew out a breath.

"Look, Walter, I said some things too, and I—."

"It doesn't matter," the genus interrupted. "I'm sure you got me through it however you could."

Paige let her voice die out. It was almost like he knew what she was going to say, or at least deduced that the words weren't worth hearing if she was just going to take them back.

The mug slipped slightly in his hands and he placed it on top of her desk before distancing himself again. He looked calm on the outside but Paige wondered if he was shaking as much internally as she was. "Why are you telling me this?"

 _Because I don't know how I'm supposed to feel and I need you to give me something to hold on to._

"Because I'm tired, Walter." The wheels on her chair squeaked as she tucked her calf underneath the opposite knee and wrung her fingers in her lap. "Aren't you tired of keeping all this bottled up? I mean, I'm in a new relationship, I should be moving on, I should be _happier_ , but…"

She trailed off, and Walter took a tentative step forward, tilting his head to look at her. "You're not…happy?" Paige's eyes snapped to his. "I'm sorry, I just meant t-that I want you to be happy. You and Ralph."

 _Don't say what you're about to say. Don't do this to him._ "I was happy, you know," she murmured, silencing her inner monologue. "When we were closer. Like after Megan died."

"You were happy when my sister died?"

"No. That's not what I meant. I was devastated that you lost your sister. But I was thrilled that…that you turned to me. That I was the one you were letting take care of you. That made me happy. To be like that with you."

Paige swore she could feel his muscles tense as he processed her words, and for a second the garage was so quiet that she was concerned his brain had failed him. "Don't…don't do that. Please."

"Why?" she asked, her voice almost challenging. "It's a fact. I thought you appreciated facts."

"Because I promised I wouldn't interfere in your relationship a-and it's too hard when you state facts like that."

"Would it be the worst thing? If you did interfere?" Walter looked at her like she'd grown another head. She knew she wasn't making sense but none of this made sense to her, either, and she couldn't translate what she didn't understand. "Fine, I know I reacted badly about Tahoe. But this is different."

"How is this different?"

"Because…" Paige's breath caught in her throat and she looked down, picking at her nails like they might somehow give her clarity. "Walter, what you want me to say? That I'm over you? Well, I'm not. That I don't care about Tim? I do. I know it hurts you to see us together and I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be the one who teaches you about this stuff but trust me, I'm just as lost as you are. And I don't know where that leaves us."

Walter stared at her for an eternity, and for one brief, insane second, she thought he might do something magnificently stupid like kiss her. Instead, he squinted and mumbled, "What do you mean, you know seeing you with Tim hurts me?"

She'd spilled so many thoughts in that one rant that it took her a second to pinpoint exactly what he meant. Walter was clearly displeased and she considered playing it off, but he didn't deserve to be lied to anymore. He never had.

"It was the other thing you said. In the capsule. How hard my relationship with Tim was for you."

She'd flipped a switch in him, somehow, and she gripped the arms of her chair as she saw color drain from his face. Walter could be temperamental but he was very rarely _angry_ , and it scared her—not for herself, but for him, for the stupid ways he often reacted.

"You knew," he said thickly. "You knew how I felt about…about all of it…I told myself that you didn't know. I couldn't hold you responsible because you were oblivious and I wasn't going to tell you and I—." Walter sucked in a breath and dragged his hands over his face. "But you did. And you paraded him around in front of me. Kissed him in front of me. Made me watch him with Ralph." Paige opened her mouth and he shook his head to stop her, a warning in his eyes. "I know I've hurt you, but not…not deliberately. Not like that."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you deliberately, either." Her voice was a little too desperate as she untangled her legs and pushed up from her chair to face him. "I'm sorry. I'm not perfect. I've betrayed your trust, I get it. Just…don't shut down. Give me a chance to fix this."

Walter closed his eyes, still breathing heavily, and then walked backward to his desk, shuffling a stack of papers. She knew what he was searching for and rushed around her desk to reach him. "Stop. It's okay. You don't need to leave. I'll leave. I don't want you driving like this."

There was strange humor in her repeating those words to Walter after she'd ignored them from Tim. Maybe she was just as stubborn as he was.

The genius grabbed his car keys, but she stepped in front of him to block him. Her hands were on his upper arms and she yanked them back—they'd traveled there instinctively, but it didn't take a genius to know he would reject her touch right now. "Promise me you won't be reckless," Paige pleaded. "If not for me, then for Ralph."

Her son's name seemed to bring him back to earth. He nodded, squeezing the ring of keys in his palm before dropping them back onto the desk. "For Ralph."

At least he wouldn't end up on the side of a cliff again, and she clung to that knowledge as Walter circled around her without a second glance and left the garage, the door clanging shut behind him.


	5. Break

**So I know I said it was going to get better, but I should warn you there's still a lot of angst in this chapter. But, like…constructive angst? I PROMISE next chapter will be the relief you want, I'm not that sadistic. Barring any twists in my life, it'll be up on Monday.**

 **Thank you a ton for the feedback, I love hearing from you and I know it's kind of weird to leave reviews on a story** _ **every day**_ **, so I appreciate you supporting me nonetheless. Because I was updating this story so quickly, I haven't really had time to respond to most of the reviews personally, but rest assured they've made my life infinitely better. ;)**

 _You are the world's worst emotional translator._

Paige unclasped her pendant necklace, setting it on the dresser in front of her. She couldn't even bring herself to look in the mirror. She'd known she was only going to hurt Walter again, but she had no idea it would be this ugly.

She wasn't sure what she wanted from the genius. Did she expect him to confess his love and sweep her into his arms? That wasn't his style, and it was horribly unfair to ask for that when she was still with Tim. Paige had just craved one real conversation between them, one night where they could stop hiding, but maybe the truth was better left unspoken.

And it wasn't until he confronted her about throwing Tim in his face that she realized she had nothing to say. She didn't know _why_. Maybe she was angry, after all, or maybe she was so desperate to actually feel something for the trainee that she put him front and center in her life. Maybe she wanted Walter to fight for her. Maybe it was all of those things.

Paige could go back a thousand times and apologize to Walter, but it would always end exactly like tonight until she could admit the truth. She made it sound like she was torn between Walter and Tim. That wasn't the reality. She didn't love Tim…she knew that much. Even if she hadn't seen a side of him she didn't like, earlier that day, there was a shallowness to their relationship that had nothing to do with its novelty. It would never fulfill all of her needs.

But Walter did. Whether things were good or bad between them, their connection ran deep. With that, though, came increased risk and emotions so strong even she had trouble processing them. Sometimes he frustrated her. He never knew what to say and he didn't listen. He could be arrogant and childish. But she never tired of being around him. And she liked the person she was around him.

 _You don't like the person you are with Tim._

That realization hit her fast and hard. It didn't really matter what attributes the Navy SEAL had or didn't have. It didn't matter how he treated her and Ralph, or the thousand other logical reasons she devised for giving him a chance. Paige was different, she'd been changing, and not in a way that made her proud. She was quick-tempered, unforgiving, and more selfish lately than she thought she was capable of. That wasn't all Tim's fault, of course—she had to accept responsibility. But he brought out the worst parts of her and she couldn't believe it had taken her this long to see it.

He would still have a place in Ralph's life, if he wanted one. She'd discuss it with both of them. But he could no longer be in hers.

"I'm hungry."

Paige motioned for Ralph to come in. The door was already ajar and he pushed it open, passing her and dropping down on her bed with a bounce. She'd paid the babysitter for the whole night, even though she returned earlier than expected, and it didn't occur to her that her son hadn't eaten. "Sorry, baby. Do you want to take my card and order pizza?" He nodded and reached for her purse before she remembered who she was talking to and added, " _Only_ pizza. If any mysterious chemicals show up at our door again, you and I are having a serious chat. On second thought, maybe I should just—."

Ralph rolled his eyes. "I got it, mom." He yanked the credit card from her wallet and steadied himself to jump off the bed, but stopped at the last second and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

She'd kept it together on the torturously slow ride home—it would have been absurd to save Walter from a wreck and then get into one herself—and vowed to tamp down her emotions until Ralph went to bed. He loved Walter like a father and she didn't want him to know that she had done perhaps permanent damage to her relationship with the genius. No matter how wounded he was, Walter would never let it affect Ralph, and Paige was determined to do the same.

"I'm fine." She gathered her hair in her hands and pulled it through a black elastic. "Thank you for asking."

The boy sighed. "You get mad at me and Walter when we say we're fine. Why do you get to say it?"

Paige stilled, chuckling quietly at the petulance in Ralph's voice. "Because I usually mean it when I say I'm fine."

"But you don't mean it now."

It wasn't a question. Her arms dropped to her sides and she turned around, leaning her weight back against the dresser. Ralph wasn't confronting her, but she knew she was being hypocritical. She encouraged the team to express their emotions freely and openly while hiding her own when they became inconvenient. She'd been doing that more and more lately. "You win. I'm having a rough day. But it's nothing you need to be concerned about, okay?"

"Did you and Walter fight?" He stared at her expectantly and her eyes widened, fingers curling into her palms. "It's the only thing that makes you really upset."

Paige was surprised; she and Walter didn't argue often, and she never got Ralph involved, but the young genius was nothing if not excellent at discerning patterns.

She wanted to protect him, but he was asking her a direct question and her entire day had just been a succession of secrets blowing up in her face, so she decided to answer honestly. "Yes. I, um…I made a mistake. And Walter is unhappy with me. But I'm going to work it out, alright? Seriously. I don't want you to be worried. I promise nothing will change between you two."

Ralph set the credit card next to him and crossed his legs on the bed. "I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for you."

Paige drew in a deep breath. He was making it hard to maintain composure with his damn emotional intelligence. Why did she teach him that anyway?

She moved her purse aside and sat with him on the edge of the mattress, placing her hand on his knee and offering him a weak smile. "I wish I was as smart as you right now. Maybe then I'd know what to do."

Ralph patted her hand briefly with his. It was a small gesture, but from a child who had avoided physical contact like the plague for most of his life, it was more than she'd ever dreamed of. And she had been so cruel to the person responsible for all of it.

"You're human, mom. We rely on you for a lot, but that doesn't mean you're always going to have the answers. It's okay if you make mistakes sometimes. I know you try to do the right thing. Walter does too."

Paige wasn't sure exactly how much of a train wreck she had to be to receive words of wisdom from an eleven-year-old, but she gratefully accepted the comfort he was offering and murmured a thank you as she kissed his hair. He leaned over and rested his head against her shoulder, and that was all it took for the tears she'd been holding back to break loose with a vengeance.

* * *

She never said that she loved him.

Paige admitted she hadn't moved on, but that wasn't enough. Walter needed more. He wasn't going to get it from her, though, not any time soon. He sensed that she didn't know how she felt about him, or maybe she didn't want to know.

Walter smiled wryly. The tables had certainly turned.

Walking away from her like that was always painful, and he'd only done it a few times, under the most extreme circumstances. He wasn't able to breathe with her there and it felt like the garage walls were going to cave in and crush him. It was cold outside, though, and Walter wished he'd paused his dramatic exit to grab a coat.

He and Paige would make peace. For the sake of team. For Ralph's sake. They would agree to put the argument behind them and move forward, never bringing it up again. But they couldn't go back to the way they were. She meant the world to him. She'd made him happy in ways he didn't know were possible. And she could tear him apart in equal measure. How could he trust her with everything he had when she showed so little concern for his feelings?

It was dark now and Walter wasn't sure how long he'd been walking. His head was clearer even though his body was wound like a violin string that was about to snap. He needed sleep, but that wasn't going to come easy tonight. More likely, he'd throw himself into a project until the early hours of the morning. Preferably something that didn't allow for wandering thoughts.

"Walt!" The psychologist's gratingly jovial voice rang out as soon as Walter entered the garage. Cabe was next to him, looking at something on the computer, and glanced up with a grin.

The genius sighed. This wasn't shaping up as the quiet evening he'd pictured.

"What are you doing here?" The question was mostly unnecessary. Toby and Cabe had invited him to dinner earlier—he now wondered if he should have accepted—and they were exhibiting signs of mild intoxication. He'd heard Toby refer to it as "tipsiness." They likely decided to err on the side of caution and ride it out at the garage until they could drive home. But Walter's tone made it clear that he was not in a celebratory mood.

"Geez, you look like you just trekked through Narnia. It's not that cold outside, is it?"

Walter sighed as he crossed over to the closet, rifling through the hangers to find a sweatshirt. "I assume that in your current state, you are more or less…immune to the elements." He located a worn UCLA hoodie and zipped it over his shirt. "I'll be in the loft. Have a good night."

"Hey, come and hang out with us," Cabe insisted, speaking for the first time. "We're watching footage of famous public statements throughout history to see if Toby can tell who's lying."

"That sounds great. I'm going to bed."

"Walt, quick question," Toby interjected, and he reluctantly turned around, sighing. "Why is your coffee mug on Paige's desk?"

Walter stiffened and glanced over. His blue ceramic cup was still there, forgotten and almost completely full. "Uh…" he cleared his throat. "I guess I put it down and then got distracted."

The psychologist tapped his finger against his chin, _hmmming_ loudly. "That shirt wasn't on the desk when we left either. So unless you're going through Paige's clothes…"

He wasn't sure when Paige went home, but he was pretty confident the blouse was a ruse anyway and she'd neglected to take it with her. It bothered him, suddenly, that he didn't know if she arrived at her apartment safely. He resisted the urge to text her and check.

Walter pressed his lips together. There was no point in making up a story. Toby already knew.

"Emergency blouse on the desk, coffee that hasn't been touched, and a genius who went for a stroll in sixty-degree weather without a jacket. Cabe, would you like w _hat happened here tonight_ for two hundred?"

The agent blinked, a bit less perceptive under the influence of alcohol than Toby was. "Did something go down between you and Paige?"

"Ding ding ding." Toby initiated a slow clap on his behalf. "As much as I like a good mystery, I think the chances are right around perfect that this was regarding Mr. Timothy Armstrong."

Walter gritted his teeth at the mention of the trainee. He'd heard that name too many times today already and wondered when his own home became _The Tim Show_. "Not now, Toby. It's none of your business."

He started for the stairs.

"Au contraire, buddy. We're a team and you've gotta be able to work with Tim and Paige, or one of us is getting blown to pieces—."

" _Shut up, Toby_." Walter nearly surprised himself with the venom in his voice as he turned around the face the two men. "I listened to you and held back from telling Paige how I felt. Fine. That was my decision. But Tim…" He exhaled roughly. "You've pushed me to accept him from day one, and why? Not for my benefit. For yours. So we could work together without experiencing any uncomfortable tension. Everyone here has pushed me to develop my emotions and then told me to suppress them when they became problematic. My EQ may not be fully developed, but I'm reasonably sure that's not what a friend would do."

Silence.

"Don't," the genius snapped when Cabe started to walk around Toby's desk. "Have you _ever_ stopped to think how difficult this process has been for me? How hard I've had to work to learn how to cope? And all I hear from you is that Tim is a great guy, I should let Paige be happy, I'll fall in love again." He glared at the psychologist. "Would you feel the same if it was you? If Happy was with someone else? You told me once that she was the love of your life. When you thought she was dating Chet, did you want to be friends with him? And you, Cabe." The agent withered under Walter's heated stare. "Are you calling up Rebecca's husband to go fishing? Have you even accepted that she has a new family? You let her slip through your fingers, and you'd be content watching me do the same?"

Cabe rocked uncertainly on his heels and crossed his arms in front of him. "No. That isn't what I want for you."

"Then stay out of it. From this point forward, I will handle Tim on my terms without interference. If I want your advice, I'll request it." Walter shook his head, grabbing the mug from Paige's desk on his way to the stairs.

No one stopped him this time.


	6. Time

**And here our journey ends. I've neglected 90% of my normal life to write this fic so best that we wrap it up haha. But I've enjoyed your sweet, hilarious reviews immensely. Thank you for a very fun week and happy Scorpion day!**

He didn't want to see her.

Judging from the way he had himself practically barricaded in the loft, he wasn't interested in seeing anyone. Paige didn't dare go up there, not after the catastrophic failure of the night before. She sent Sylvester—the only member of the team, aside from Happy, who didn't seem to be experiencing tension with Walter—with a plate of food around noon and received a secondhand thank you, which she suspected the mathematician might have embellished slightly.

The last week had ground her down and she was grateful for her two upcoming days of freedom. She planned to spend them exclusively with Ralph, who was almost shockingly supportive as she sobbed on his shoulder like an unstable mother. Paige felt determined to pull herself together and find a way to show her appreciation for how amazing of a kid he was.

She dropped him off at school early so he wouldn't be around when Tim came into the garage. The trainee was confused, though not wholly surprised after the way they left things at the restaurant. He insisted he wasn't jealous of her friendship with Walter and that it was only a problem if she reciprocated the genius's feelings. When she didn't respond, the light dawned in his eyes and he'd merely leaned over to kiss her cheek before telling Cabe that he was taking some personal time and disappearing for the remainder of the day.

The look in his eyes had hurt her. But not as much as the look in Walter's had and she supposed that was all she really needed to know.

Paige switched on her turn signal and made a left into the alleyway. Delivery drivers seemed incapable of finding the garage, so she'd volunteered to get some fresh air and pick up Italian for the team. It smelled amazing and she wondered if it might even be enough to lure Walter out of hiding.

But the genius's car was nowhere to be found and Paige felt the knot in her stomach tighten. He had used her absence to sneak away. She'd been so nervous, before, about the prospect of permanent strain between them. Now she was wondering if he ever planned to look at her again.

Toby stepped out of the garage alone, circling straight around to her backseat. Paige pressed a button to unlock the doors and climbed out to help him. "Thank you." Trying not to sound too anxious, she added, "Walter's car isn't here. Is he…?"

"Okay?" the psychologist finished her sentence. He nodded. "Yeah. He told us he was going to the beach and didn't expect to be back for a while."

"Oh. Uh, good to know." Paige opened her mouth to say something else—even she wasn't sure what—and closed it abruptly, returning her attention to the takeout containers.

Toby paused, and she stopped too, the crinkling noise of plastic bags entirely too loud in her ears when she was only one handling them.

"This has been an amazing year for me," he said out of the blue. "I've worked really hard not to screw things up with Happy. It's in my nature to self-sabotage when my life is going well. But I haven't."

Paige frowned, unsure what his philosophical waxing stemmed from or how she should respond. "I know. That's great," she offered tentatively.

He placed one hand on the roof of her car and used it to support his weight. "Yeah, but what if instead of self-sabotaging, I sabotaged someone else?" She arched her brow in a silent question, and the psychologist pressed his lips together, looking as close to ashamed as she had ever seen him. "I think I might have been so focused on not blowing up my own life that I meddled too much in Walt's."

Oh.

 _Oh._

"Cabe and I told him not to confess his feelings for you," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "And then I told you not to confront him about the capsule. I thought I was protecting him. And you. But, uh…" Toby's lips twisted into a smirk. "Walt kinda laid us out last night and he was right. We messed up. You've always worked best when you were honest with each other. I should have been encouraging you to tackle your issues, not hide from them. Sorry."

Paige swallowed hard. She'd assumed, after Tahoe, that Walter never consciously admitted his love for her because he wasn't ready. But he _had_ been ready and stayed silent out of respect for her and Tim. Considering Walter's heightened emotional state the night before, it wasn't hard to imagine a few of Toby's prying questions breaking open the floodgates.

The liaison sighed. "Thanks. We screwed everything up pretty royally, though. I think it might be a while before he's ready to talk to me."

"Nah." Toby gave her a reassuring half-smile. "He's had a day to cool off. There's nothing he wouldn't forgive you for, Paige. And yeah, that's a lot of control to hand over to another person. He just needs to know you won't abuse it."

She exhaled and rubbed her eyes, which had been dry and grainy all day from the crying and lack of sleep. "But maybe I did abuse it. And I don't know how to explain it. Or how to apologize for it."

Toby abandoned the bags and turned, leaning back against the car door that wasn't open. His arms traveled over his head and he flattened his palms on top of his hat. "Your job is to make us understand things, isn't it? And Walt hired you because you're damn good at it. You've always known how to get through to him." He nodded in the direction of the garage. "Hap and I can take care of Ralph if you want to go. Or not. My meddling days are over."

What if he really wasn't ready to see her? What if she was just about to make things even worse?

 _They probably can't get worse, actually._

Her last attempts went badly because she asked him for more than he could give. She wouldn't make that mistake this time. If she could just salvage their friendship, that would be a good start. "Yeah. Thanks. And I'm sure Walter understands that you and Cabe meant well."

"Eh, we've gotten through worse. You know, after Happy rejected my proposal, Walter said I should stop trying to make it work with her and I called him an ass." He leaned down to gather the bags in both hands and then nudged the door shut with his knee. "Guess I'm the ass, huh?"

Paige shrugged. "You are," she teased, a small grin forming on her face. "But I think we've all been lately."

* * *

It didn't take her long to locate him. Walter brought her and Ralph to this spot a few times after Megan was gone. Paige was surprised he'd been willing to share it with anyone else, but grateful that he allowed them to honor his sister's memory even though they only had a short time with her.

He was staring at the ocean, looking strangely peaceful as the wind rustled his hair and billowed his shirt. The sunset was gorgeous—vibrant orange streaks painting the sky and fading out into pink rays. She understood why Megan begged to come here so often.

Paige had pulled off her wedges while walking in the sand and set them to the side before lowering herself next to him. She pulled her knees to her chest and curled her arms around her bent legs, surprised that the silence which fell between them was almost comfortable, or at least not as tense as she'd expected.

"I ended it with Tim," she murmured after a few minutes. The genius didn't turn to look at her, but she saw him shift his weight from the corner of her eye and knew that he heard. "I'm sorry, Walter. I don't know what I was thinking—showing up at the garage like that last night. I should never have told you how I felt before I was free to. I put you in an impossible position."

"You didn't."

She blinked, surprised to hear him respond. "Didn't what?"

"Tell me. How you felt."

"Oh." Paige replayed their conversation in her head, even though she knew his memory was impeccable. "I guess I didn't. Not really." She cast her eyes downward as she toyed with the hem of her blue top, twisting it around her fingers. "Well, I love you, Walter. I think maybe I've loved you for a while. I just…I stopped believing that you would ever feel ready or even want to be with me." She bit the inside of her lip. "The irony is that after everything that's happened, maybe you've decided you don't want to be with me after all."

"Paige," he said softly, but she cut him off, not ready to hear his rejection until she'd said everything she came to say.

"I'm only telling you because I don't want any more secrets. I'm not expecting…anything. I didn't break up with Tim for you. I did it for me. And I know we've been through a lot, so if there's too much baggage, if you don't want to do this or you feel like I'm not the one for you anymore…" That idea alone stole her breath. "It's okay. I'm still here for you and the team. No matter what."

Walter uttered her name again, and she fell quiet, tilting her head in his direction but not meeting his eyes directly. "I appreciate your apology. But you're hardly the only one who has erred here." He stretched his legs out in front of him and her attention was drawn to his hands again as he massaged his left palm with his thumb. "I _was_ upset by your actions. I'm still…hurt. But perhaps I failed to take into account my past decisions. The many times I've pushed you away. My courtship with Linda."

Paige stiffened involuntarily at the mention of the other woman. She hadn't been quite as forthcoming with her jealousy as Walter was, but that didn't mean she was above it.

"I know I don't apologize often. Not as frequently as I should. But I am sorry for hurting you, too." His fingers curled and Paige could see the impressions that his nails left on the skin. "I just need time. Once I've processed the events of the past few months, we can restore our equilibrium."

Equilibrium. That was Walter speak for "normal" and she wanted to get back to that—in some ways, but not others.

 _You promised you wouldn't push him too hard._

But she'd failed at keeping her disappointment off her face, clearly, because even the genius picked up on it and furrowed his brows in concern. "You're upset. What did I do?"

Paige swallowed. Her throat felt thick and each breath took effort, but she was determined not to alarm him. "No, Walter. It's okay. I'm okay." The breeze pushed a few strands of hair into her face and she forced them back behind her ear. "You're willing to rebuild our friendship and that's…that's all I can ask you for right now."

A look she didn't recognize passed through the genius's eyes before he returned his gaze to the water, which was starting to look black as the light disappeared.

"Paige, I think you may have misunderstood." He rubbed his hand over his jaw. "Yes, my mind requires time to…catch up. Both of us will need to exert significant effort to reestablish trust and open communication. And I acknowledge that I still have substantial room for growth." Walter exhaled and his expression softened as he glanced back at her. "But I love you. That hasn't changed. That won't change. Now that I've, uh, accepted my feelings, I don't believe there are any variables that would negatively impact my desire to be with you."

The liaison's heart pounded against her rib cage. He was expressing himself the best way he knew how, and it wasn't poetic in the traditional sense but Paige was sure she'd never heard anything more beautiful. "So…we're working on it?"

His lips curved up. "If you're willing."

Heat crept into her cheeks. Walter had no idea how willing she was. But she could wait, as long as she knew what she waiting for. "I'd like that."

He smiled down at her—it felt so good to see him smile, to have _made_ him smile—and as hard as she fought for control, she couldn't quite drag her eyes away from his lips. Whether he remembered the cues from their first kiss or her impulse was just painfully obvious, Walter seemed aware of her intention. She didn't even realize she'd said his name until he nodded and relaxed his shoulders. "It's okay, Paige."

She tucked her legs underneath her to get better leverage and brought her hands up to his face, fingers drifting down to his neck, giving him time to move away if he needed space. But he was still except for the accelerated rise and fall of his chest. Paige didn't know how often they would do this, while they were waiting, but it felt like sealing an agreement, receiving confirmation they both badly needed. The liaison was suddenly grateful that he'd stopped her before, because now it was just the two of them, and she would have no regrets about what she was preparing to do.

She pushed up slightly, onto her knees, and slanted her head to brush her lips over his. Walter felt warm and stable against her, secure in a way that made her grasp just how much she'd missed him. She melted into him as he deepened the kiss and rested his hands on her waist, clutching her shirt, keeping her steady.

A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that they were in public, even though there weren't many people left around them, and it was better, regardless of where they were, not to get too carried away. Paige tugged on his bottom lip before pulling back, balancing her weight on her shins. He was staring at her with so much affection it made her blush.

"That was…overwhelming."

She laughed quietly. "Yeah. A little bit for me too."

The genius's fingers flexed into her waist, and Paige realized it was a signal for something he wasn't sure how to ask. She smiled and sat on the sand, scooting down so she could lean comfortably against his chest. Walter's arm came around to rest on her other side and she tipped her head back onto his shoulder. She could feel his breathing, steady and even, and if not for her son, Paige was pretty sure she'd have no intention of ever moving.

This was enough. For now, this was more than enough.


End file.
